I think S1 had a lot of those moments you are talking about simply by virtue of the threat being smaller. It wasn't saving the world from a virus or a bomb or whatever. It was just about protecting one guy and Jack's family. Because of that, there were a lot of slow moments. The scene with waitress. The hospital scene with Teri. Tony and Nina's conversation about how hard it is to do their job. Because it was so...intimate, I guess is the best way to describe it, everything hit close to home emotionally. Maybe we just notice them more this season because we know Jack and Tony and Bill and Chloe's history now than when we first met them? I don't know. But I do know they were there. Lines still resonate and stick out in my head- my favorite line of the series is still the one Jack says to Nina about how people become bad guys by compromising...just once. (Well, aside from "I'm gonna need a hacksaw," of course.)

Still, you're right that we haven't seen it in a while. They definitely gone back to those emotional moments this season and they've scripted in some EXCELLENT lines. Off the top of my head, there is the "two worlds" line, oh and "the rules make us better," "I want to know if you feel anything," and "I regret that the world even needs people like me."

Definitely one of the best seasons.